The year-end holiday season is a time for celebration – a chance to decorate homes, splurge on gifts and gather with family and friends. It’s also a time when the scammers come out in full force.
Last year, 1 in 4 people fell victim to fraud during the holiday season. And according to Signifyd’s latest Fraud Pressure Index, which charts the percentage of high-risk transactions over the company’s commerce network, fraud is hitting an all-time high.
Fraud peaks during the year-end holidays. Scammers know that consumers, rushing around and looking for bargains, are prone to let their guards down a bit more than usual this time of year. To prepare for this spike in fraud, businesses – especially those in the retail space – should look to increase their own security measures. Investing in robust data protection and being clear about security protocols will give customers peace of mind that their personal data is secure, keeping their wallets safe this holiday season.
Consumers have a large role to play in data protection too. To protect themselves from festive fraud, they need to look at their buying patterns and anticipate the tactics that perpetrators of fraud might take. The first step is to know how to spot a scam when you see one. This isn’t always easy – fraudsters get smarter every year, and they’ve developed tactics to target consumers with season-specific content designed to look as real and appealing as possible.
